ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar assured on Sunday a PPP delegation, led by party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, that their proposal related to tax would be incorporated in the upcoming budget for FY-2026-27, sources told Dawn .
Dar gave the assurance during a meeting with Bilawal and other PPP leaders at the Zardari House in Islamabad, an official statement by the PPP said. It added that apart from Bilawal, Sherry Rehman, Naveed Qamar, Murad Ali Shah and Jam Khan Shoro were also present at the meeting.
“Matters related to the budget were discussed during the meeting,” it said.
With the budget set to be announced on June 10 (Wednesday), this was the second round of pre-budget talks between the two major ruling partners, the PML-N and the PPP, and the third and final round is expected to be held tomorrow.
A source told Dawn that during the Sunday meeting, the PPP pointed out that provinces had been asked to raise their revenue targets in order to meet the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) requirements.
The IMF has asked the Centre to introduce at least Rs430bn worth of additional budgetary measures in the upcoming budget, alongside a nearly matching amount of Rs430bn to be generated by the four provinces.
In this connection, the PPP asked Dar for ways for the provinces to increase their tax revenues, the source said.
Separately, a PPP leader said his party was trying to reach an agreement with the ruling PML-N on fiscal measure in light of the new IMF demands, adding that they were “unhappy with the budget in its current form”.
“The government wants to tax the same classes instead of expanding the tax base,” the PPP leader pointed out.
More to follow
